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The first of 12 driverless metro trains for Sydney's Western Sydney Airport rail link has arrived in Australia after a 23,000km voyage from Vienna, marking a milestone for the infrastructure project connecting the new airport to the broader rail network.
The three-carriage train was unloaded at Port Kembla earlier this week and trucked to the Orchard Hills Stabling and Maintenance Facility in Sydney's west, where it will be assembled ahead of dynamic testing on the 23km, six-stop line later this year.
The remaining 11 trains are due to arrive over coming months as the Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport Line moves toward operation, with journey times of around 15 minutes between St Marys and Airport Terminal Station.
The trains have been designed with features tailored to airport passengers, including aisles about 30 centimetres wider than those on the existing M1 Line trains, under-seat luggage storage, real-time flight information displays fed directly from the airport, and four bicycle storage spaces per train.
“Western Sydney is getting the most technologically-advanced driverless trains in the world to service the new international airport and that growing part of the city," says NSW Transport Minister John Graham.
“We are excited to the see first train unloading at the docks.
“These trains will be unique to the Western Sydney Airport Metro line, providing wider aisles for travellers with luggage, digital screens showing real-time flight information and all modern accessibility features.
“Platforms and gates at the new airport station will be wider to make it a first-class experience when services begin.”
Siemens Mobility, part of the Parklife Metro consortium, was awarded a turnkey contract to deliver the metro system for the Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport project in 2022, representing Australia's first turnkey rail project and public-private partnership.
The contract, worth about $1.5 billion, includes the delivery and commissioning of 12 fully automated, driverless metro trains, as well as digital rail infrastructure such as signaling, electrification, telecoms, platform screen doors, and a depot.
Siemens Mobility will also implement Railigent X, the Mobility Application Suite for digital services, to enhance operational reliability and availability.
The company will be responsible for a 15-year maintenance contract, utilising digital asset management applications.
Federal Member for Werriwa Anne Stanley says complementary bus routes servicing the airport precinct are set to begin operating from July, ahead of the metro line's launch.
"These new transport links will be really welcome additions for visitors and the thousands of people expected to work in the airport precinct,” she says.
The Western Sydney (Nancy-Bird Walton) International Airport will officially welcome its first commercial passenger flights on October 25 this year.
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